The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Shares Sold by Westchester Capital Management Inc.

Westchester Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,346 shares of the company’s stock after selling 269 shares during the period. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $84,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KO. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.6 %

KO opened at $71.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $65.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The Coca-Cola Company has a 12-month low of $57.93 and a 12-month high of $73.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,324,191.46. This represents a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 288,146 shares of company stock valued at $20,456,524. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

About Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.